Various Artists - Cthulu

I had to let this track play a LOT of times before I could form a definite opinion on it and move forward with my life, but now that I've finally sunken into the dark depths of this cold and bleak ambient movement I can readily state my thoughts. This is Cthulu, a near eighty minute long tribute to the twisted, albeit wonderful mind behind H.P. Lovecraft. However, it not only beckons to the author of America's finest horror fiction, but also, as the label put, to what lurks beyond our colorful illusion.

And, what a monster of a release this turned out to be. Twelve artists put together their minds to make a bestial and well thought out musical ensemble, and credits hereby lie to the following: Alt3r3d Stat3, Alphaxone, Aseptic Void, Atrium Carceri, Cryobiosis, Halgrath, Neizvestija, Ugasanie, Mystified, Asbaar Dark Matter, and Sjellos. With so many artists connecting to one another, fans followed the web of intrigue to the point where the physical copy has already been sold out in pre-order state. And, well, that's enough background information. Let me begin uncovering this graceful and marvelous hypnotizing wonder that beckons at my threshold.

As rain drops fall and the sounds of an ancient myth moving in the abyss slowly floods your ears, so does a mournful synth line as it introduces you to the coming hymn that will overtake your mind. The tempo drops, and soon the sound of apparent nothing is introduced upon you, as you feel a giant, darkened void around you; it's in this moment that you realize there's naught but yourself and the frigid emptiness to comfort you along this ride.

More noises from the creature emerges, and as the plunge into the unknown depths deepen, more ambience fill the gaping hole that you find yourself in, more somber synths letting out a cry to cure the sadness that you feel, the misery of the unknown around you. Soon, you find yourself emerging out of the darkness, and into the caverns of this being's home; the mystery and wonder guiding you through it through a steady synth line, and an echoing and fading drum.

Alas, the wonder soon dissipates as you continue on, finding yourself once more lost in a field of dampened dirt and hungering chords. It's almost a stealth game you're playing now, trying to avoid whatever beast may be lying underneath all this rubble and grime. And, for moments to come, you receive that peace and clarity, a singular drone note letting you feel the space around you. Shifting, swaying, all the way to the half hour mark, it's around this time you come out of that drone coma, and reawaken with little scatters of electronics placed ever so delicately along the brims of the dark ambient spectrum.

A chilling sensation, as if an impending doom is about to come up behind you and suck the life right out of you comes in the form of higher pitched sounds, but the anxious feeling soon leaves as your brought into more heavy atmospheric noise that slowly builds with steady streams of looping synthetic sounds.

Travelling into the belly of the pig, more drone notes await in this fantastic adventure. For the next twenty minutes, the pressure on your chest builds, your heart sort of races as, though the music speaks of calmness, you can't help but feel a bit of an awkward tension throughout.

It isn't until that period is over, when piano music graces you, that you finally feel a bit of relief, especially as Angelic synths play through, and very slight noises are made available to the ear. The optimism fades abruptly as more heavy ambience takes a hefty bite out of you. Bells will ring, chiming in a very eerie, very odd sound, an echoing of hyena laughter in the form of electronically unknown noise files out of the track. And, as the ambient continues, the song starts to end. All fades out, a slight hum comes along, and we finally exit the dark abode that we found ourselves in, coming right back out into a storm.

This is a collaboration effort done right in every essence of the word. I will say that a few of the drone segments managed to slightly bore me, but seemingly transformed right before I was able to lose interest to keep me going. Listening to this has just rekindled my love for dark ambient sounds; though I am very fond of the genre, there are times when it sounds a bit stale, where every artist might just sound like another. And that, to me, isn't all too great. However, these twelve artists all combined their unique talents, their strenghts, their weaknesses as well, to make a formidable soundtrack and tribute to the life of Lovecraft. But, you cannot solely take it as that. This is a work of love, a work of something more than just to celebrate a man's life; this is to celebrate all wonders of life, all things that are mysterious and pushes our minds to think right outside of the box rather than staying in. I give out a huge congratulations to all artists involved, and can only hope and wish that a repressing of the album will be issued, and that at that time, I will be able to grab a copy at that time. Sep 23 2014